BEAUMONT, Texas – The 2020-21 season did not get off to the start Lamar University head coach Tic Price wanted, but the Cardinals will have to quickly put the disappointment of Wednesday's loss at No. 17 Houston behind them as they get set for two games in two days at the Tulane Classic. The two-day three-team tournament will have the Red and White squaring off against tournament-host Tulane Friday followed by Lipscomb on Saturday. The Green Wave are looking to bounce back from a 12-18 (.400) record a season ago that included a 4-14 (.222) record in American Athletic Conference play. The game against Tulane will tip off at 1 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPN+.
 
The Cardinals return to the court the following day to face Lipscomb. The Bison were scheduled to tip off the season Wednesday against Campbellsville Harrodsburg but the game was canceled. The Bison will look to improve upon a 16-16 (.500) campaign a year ago, which saw them go 9-7 (.562) in Atlantic Sun Conference action. Both games will be played at Fogelman Arena on the Tulane Campus.
 
Oddly, the two games in New Orleans will mark the second and third consecutive games where LU is facing a team playing its 2020-21 season opener.  
 
Friday's game against Tulane will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two schools. The Cardinals trail the all-time series, 1-4 (.200), a mark that includes an 0-3 record in New Orleans. Friday's contest will be the first meeting between the two schools since the 2010-11 season, and the second-straight contest played in the Big Easy.
 
Friday's game continues a very tough stretch for the Cardinals who will play eight of their first nine games away from the Montagne Center. The team's lone home game during that stretch will be the Dec. 15^th against Southern Mississippi. LU will also play three of their first four Southland games on the road this season.
 
When LU and Lipscomb step on the court Saturday it will mark the first meeting between the two schools in series history.
 
Despite the season-opening setback, sophomore guard Anderson Kopp has already had a more positive start to the 2020-21 campaign compared to his rookie season. Forced to sit out the entire non-conference portion of the 2019-20 due to an injury, Kopp led the Cardinals with 15 point in his hometown against the Cougars. Unfortunately for the Red and White, he was the lone Cardinal in double figures as both senior Avery Sullivan and junior Lincoln Smith finished the game with eight points.